Letter to the Editor: The Italian Yankees

Providence Journal
October 3, 2015 Saturday

Dear Editor

I was saddened to hear of the passing of New York Yankee great Lawrence “Yogi” Berra. Yogi was not only a talented player, as a big part of 10 World Championship teams, but a true ambassador for the wonderful game of baseball, and a gentleman.

When I was young, every Sunday during the summer included going to Olivo’s Beach. And, it seemed that every Italian family in Rhode Island was there. They were split between Red Sox fans and Yankees fans.

The Yankees had many Italian ballplayers who made my relatives proud. The Sox had Ted Williams, “Teddy Ballgame,” while the Yankees had Mickey Mantle, the “Mick.” Almost every blanket on the beach had a transistor radio tuned to the ballgame, while back at the “kitchen area,” where the smell of “gravy” for the pasta and fresh coffee wafted from a Coleman stove, each car radio also had the game on.

With fewer teams in the American League back then, it seemed as if the Red Sox and Yankees \x97 who did not like each other \x97 met each other every weekend.

Not until both Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle were at the end of their baseball careers did I realize how great they were, and how much I would miss them. May Yogi and the Mick rest in peace, and may America’s pastime always remain just that.

Bob Ferri

Central Falls